New chapters of life
by Aggie Deneys
Summary: Wally West/Flash and Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern discuss how their respective lives have changed with the birth of twins and the return of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.


Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.

A/N: In the TPB Green Lantern Corps: Recharge, Kyle Rayner says goodbye to the Justice League as he and Guy Gardner head to Oa. The Flash is noticeably absent. A possible reason why…

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><p>Wally West, aka the Flash, aka the fastest man alive, had faced countless challenges over the years. Becoming the Flash, being part of the Justice League, marriage, Zoom…Impulse… Of the battles, villains and just everyday life encounters, Wally had thought he would have been prepared to handle anything and everything tossed his way. How wrong he had been. Nothing – not even facing Grodd or Professor Zoom, not even discovering the Speed Force, not even dealing with Batman – had prepared him for twins. He may be the fastest man alive, he may have been a founding member of the Teen Titans, he may be a current member of the Justice League, but none of that meant anything when dealing with twins. All the skills, techniques, and tricks he had learned over the years meant nothing when faced with two babies that never seemed to sleep. Even the damn Bat family would be giving up…or Bruce would have designed some really cool toy that would magically make the kids sleep. Magic… Maybe he could call Zatanna. Perhaps she could cast a spell that would make the babies sleep and let him and Linda catch eight uninterrupted hours of slumber. Hell, he'd even settle for four hours. The temptation was great. A voice inside his head was yelling for him to make the call, but another voice was shouting even louder to not give in because Linda would absolutely kill him…and if for some reason she didn't, Iris and Joan would. Besides, if Dick and Roy ever found out, they would never let him live it down. And truth be told, he honestly couldn't picture Zee agreeing to it.<p>

At the moment, though, it didn't really matter. All was quiet. No crises in Central City or Keystone requiring the Flash's assistance. No JLA alerts. Most importantly, no crying. Miraculously both babies were asleep. The apartment was filled with silence. Pure, unbroken silence. Absolute bliss. Even just a few weeks ago, the silence would have driven him insane. He hated quiet. He hated solitude. Whenever he kicked into speed mode, he went into a world of silence. Barry had warned him about it. Jay never seemed bothered by it and as a result never quite understood. And Bart…well, he hadn't become quite desperate enough to ask Bart about it. So whenever he was not in speed mode, he needed – he craved – noise. He needed reassurance that the world was still moving, albeit at an excruciatingly slow pace.

But that was then; this was now. Everything changed with the addition of twins to his life. Now, even a few seconds of silence was a precious commodity not to be wasted. He crashed on the sofa, prepared to catch a few quick zzz's.

For that reason, the sudden sounding of the apartment buzzer – which sounded as loud as a tornado siren – annoyed him. He literally flew off the sofa, hitting the "talk" button to silence the buzzer, and praying the noise hadn't wakened either of the babies. "What?" he hissed.

"…Hey, Wal, it's Kyle."

Wally wiped his hand across his face. The last thing he wanted was company. Entertaining a guest seemed as if he were wasting his priceless minutes of silence. He didn't care if said guest was one of his closest friends. He didn't care if said guest would have been the President of the United States. All he wanted was quiet time. Was that asking too much?

Yet, he knew he wasn't the only one who had recently undergone some major life changes. Kyle, too, had had his life turned upside down. Both of them had started new chapters in the story of their lives. Wally had had the birth of twins; Kyle had had the return of Hal Jordan. While Hal Jordan returning to life didn't quite equate to the addition of twins (at least not in the feeding, changing and sleeping categories), Wally knew it had still had a strong impact on Kyle's life and role. No longer was Kyle the last of the Green Lanterns. Even though technically, Kyle had never been the last of the GLs. Alan Scott was always around, then there was Jade, and eventually John had agreed to help out on Earth. Kyle may have been the last of the Green Lantern Corps, but definitely not the last of the Green Lanterns. Still, even that subtle nuance was now a moot point with Hal's return.

Wally hit the buzzer to allow Kyle entrance to the building. A quick peek into the twins' bedroom revealed they were both sound asleep. Small miracle. Back in the living room, he surveyed the state of the apartment. It wasn't good. With him and Linda barely functioning, housekeeping had fallen by the wayside. And while at the current moment, everything – babies, cities and League – was quiet, it truly was an exception. The League in particular was giving him extra headaches and heartburn.

As much as he wished he could blame the twins for his sleepless nights, they weren't the sole reason. Ever since the truth about Dr. Light had come to light, no pun intended, and Barry's role in it, Wally's world had been turned upside down. What had occurred all those years ago had destroyed his rose-colored glasses view of not only the League, but also of Barry. Yes, he knew Barry wasn't a saint. Barry had his faults and shortcomings, but Wally never would have guessed Barry would have agreed to what had been done. And while the Dr. Light issue had been addressed, the Batman issue had not. Truth be told, the Batman issue bothered him more than what had been done to Dr. Light. Until the Batman issue was addressed, Wally knew his conscience would remain troubled.

Glancing again at the mess in the apartment, he muttered, "Screw it." He didn't have the energy or desire to even attempt straightening up the apartment, not that it would have been that difficult because he _was _the fastest man alive. Besides, Kyle had seen worse. Kyle wouldn't care. Kyle would understand. He opened the apartment door and waited.

The soft ping of the elevator caused him to look down the hallway. Kyle Rayner appeared, a smile on his face. He held out a gift bag. "Congratulations! A little late, I know, but well, I figure the whole Hal/Parallax thing is a good excuse. How're you holding up?"

"Don't ask. I'd rather battle Grodd. Hell, even Amazo or a couple white Martians would be acceptable." Kyle grinned. "Come in. Don't mind the mess. Have a seat." Wally glanced at the bag.

"Go ahead," Kyle encouraged, sitting down on the sofa.

Wally sat down in a chair and carefully removed the items from the bag. He smiled when he saw what they were. Sketch pads, construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, and even doodling toys – almost everything two potential young artists could want. "Thanks."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really know what to get, but figured that was a safe choice. Maybe I can turn one of them into an artist."

Wally put the gifts back in the bag. "You should see some of the gifts we got. Ollie sent bows and arrows, which Linda was less than thrilled about. I mean, he actually sent real arrows. At least Roy had the common sense to send suction cup arrows, and you can't believe how much it pains me to say Roy had common sense. Then we got Diana's gift – bracelets, a sword, and a shield." Wally shook his head.

Kyle laughed. "And Bruce?"

"Money, what else?"

His friend grinned. "Good point. So, how are you?"

Wally shrugged. "Tired. I just want to sleep. Everyone swears it will get better, but I think they're all lying, just trying to make us feel better. Iris and Joan are godsends, but Linda and I don't want to ask for too much help. It just doesn't seem right. I mean, Iris raised twins on her own and Joan has to deal with Bart." He paused, his mind returning to that fateful day a few weeks earlier. "It's still so hard to grasp what happened. Linda went through nine months of pregnancy in a matter of minutes. Neither of us was quite prepared." That was the understatement of the year. Once again, Iris and Joan had proven invaluable, quickly purchasing the essentials like a crib, clothes, diapers, and car seats.

"And she's okay?"

"Yeah. The doctor gave her and the babies a clean bill of health, even though he wasn't quite sure how to describe what had happened." Wally shrugged. "I had Dr. Mid-Nite check them, too. He agreed. Everyone's healthy. God, I went from battling two Zooms, seeing Barry, and becoming a father in minutes."

Kyle frowned. "You saw Barry?"

Wally smiled at the memory. This was the first time he had admitted that little fact to anyone besides Linda. He hadn't even shared that tidbit with Iris. "Yeah, he was tracking Thawne in the time stream. If he hadn't showed…" Wally left the rest unsaid. If Barry hadn't showed, Wally wasn't certain how things would have turned out. He had been outmatched. Facing one Zoom was difficult enough, but two? Barry had evened the odds. But it hadn't been just the physical battle, it had also been the psychological battle and that battle he had definitely been losing. How many more times would Zoom have forced him to relive the day Linda lost the babies? Experiencing it once had been bad enough. Reliving the scene again and being helpless to stop it had been heart breaking. He shook his head, forcing his mind back to the present. "Anyway, it's not the first time I've seen him. He seems to have an uncanny way of showing up whenever I need him. And I hope it's not the last time…even though it's always weird when it happens. I never quite know if I should warn him about his impending death to save the world or if he already knows."

Kyle shook his head. "I don't know how you can handle time travel. The few times I've done it I get a headache."

"I know what you mean. I hate it. Time travel was always Barry's thing." Wally leaned back in the chair. "So, speaking of Barry, how's Hal?"

Kyle glanced away and scratched at the back of his neck. "He's…um, okay."

Wally frowned. He recognized Kyle's signs of nervousness, sensed his hesitancy. "What's wrong? Did Hal do something? Or Guy?" Dealing with Hal's return was bad enough, but add Guy Gardner's return as a Green Lantern and anything was possible.

"No…"

"Because half of what Hal usually says is bullshit, and about seventy-five percent of what Guy says is bullshit."

Kyle smirked. "Hal said the same thing about Guy. Guy was a bit more colorful in describing Hal."

Wally rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips. "Yeah, I can imagine." Wally himself was still trying to come to terms with Hal's return. The immediate question had been – if Hal could return, could Barry also return? It was a question he hadn't shared with anyone, but he suspected most people knew he had thought about it. He also suspected several others had pondered the same question.

Rather than dwell on the what-ifs, Wally had focused on the simple joy that Hal was back. Twins and Hal…words didn't seem capable of describing what he truly felt. Yet, he knew his joy – at least his joy related to Hal – wasn't shared by everyone, most notably Bruce. He suspected Kyle had mixed emotions about all of it as well. For years Kyle had been measured against Hal and constantly reminded of his shortcomings compared to Hal. Wally knew he was just as guilty as others. Now, Kyle was being forced to confront Hal face-to-face. It was no longer just words. It would no longer be as easy to deny or ignore.

"Everything is just…it's all a little weird. I went from being the last of the Green Lanterns to suddenly not. Yeah, John was helping out, but he was and yet he wasn't a GL. I mean it's not like there was a Corps or anything. It was just him and me. And now there's Guy and Kilowog and Hal. It's great not being the only one. But it's also…it's strange. I.." Kyle paused. Wally waited. He knew his friend well enough to know that Kyle would say whatever was on his mind eventually. Rushing Kyle never worked. If anything, it would just make Kyle clam up. "The universe is big. There's a lot going on out there, a lot where a Green Lantern could help. The Guardians are talking about restarting the Corps which is great because the universe needs more than just a handful of GLs. Anyway, I'm leaving."

Leaving? Leaving what? "The Corps?"

"No. Earth."

Wally frowned in confusion. Had Kyle said he was leaving the Corps, Wally would have been surprised. He knew Kyle had often wished for the return of the Corps, to be able to experience what it was like to have over three thousand other Lanterns watching his back. But Kyle said he was leaving Earth. What was the big deal? Kyle had left Earth before. It was part of the entire Green Lantern thing. One time Jenny had filled in, the next time John had filled in. No big deal...or was it? The last time Kyle had run away was immediately after his assistant had been brutally beaten. Kyle hadn't been able to deal with it. He had fled Earth. Was Kyle running again or was his excuse that the universe needed help legitimate? Given Kyle's past behavior, Wally as inclined to believe Kyle was running, but running from what?

He doubted Kyle was having the same difficulty coming to terms with what the League had done all those years ago. While Kyle wasn't happy about it, he didn't have the same connections to the original League as Wally did. Kyle hadn't grown up around them. Kyle may still view them with awe, but Wally doubted Kyle viewed them as family. No matter how wrong the entire League situation was, Wally didn't think it would cause Kyle to run. That left only one reason – Hal.

"Is everything really okay between you and Hal?"

A look of surprise appeared on Kyle's face. "Yeah, everything's good."

Wally breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Hal hadn't done anything stupid. Wally knew Hal. The Green Lantern could be completely clueless when it came to simple things such as recognizing other's feelings. He could be brash and rude. His actions and words could be viewed as uncaring, even though Wally knew the truth. Hal cared. Hal cared more than most people realized. Hal's don't-give-a-damn attitude was just a mask because heaven forbid Hal actually admit to having an emotion. Facing fear for Hal was no problem. Facing emotions, definitely not one of Hal's strengths. Had Hal had had a better understanding of emotions and how to deal with them, Wally suspected the entire Parallax thing would have never happened. Or at least Wally hoped that would have been the case.

Then there was Kyle. Ollie and Roy both described Kyle as "touchy, feely" with a note of condescension in their voices. Wally knew he had done the same thing when he had first met Kyle. What many could perceive as a weakness, Wally had grown to realize was actually one of Kyle's strengths, especially in the world of Green Lanterns. Kyle was perceptive. He wasn't likely to act first and think later. He could read emotions around situations. He could empathize. However, his emotions could also be a weakness. More than once Kyle had been blinded by his emotions. Worse, Kyle still craved approval. Even after being a Green Lantern for several years, even after proving his worth again and again, Wally knew that Kyle still needed the reassurance from other heroes that he had done well. Without that reassurance, Kyle had a tendency to reanalyze everything he had done and become filled with self-doubt.

Put Hal and Kyle together and Wally could easily picture Hal hurting Kyle without even realizing it. He also could picture Kyle quickly annoying Hal…at least until Hal got a better understanding of what made Kyle tick. Even then, there was still the chance Kyle would annoy the hell out of Hal. Hopefully, Guy would annoy Hal even more which would help Hal keep everything in perspective.

"Everything's fine with Hal," Kyle continued, "not that we've really spent that much time together."

Wally frowned. "Is he ignoring you?" That really didn't sound like Hal, not that Wally expected Hal to go out of his way to do things with Kyle. Then again, who knew how much death, Parallax, and the Spectre had changed Hal. Wally still hadn't spent much time with him. Perhaps the Hal that he remembered and the Hal who had come back weren't the same person.

"No. He's been trying, probably harder than me. He took me flying. Scared the hell out of me at first. Did all these stupid stunts. I think he was trying to see if I'd get sick. Thank god I didn't. He probably wouldn't have said anything, but Guy would've never let me live it down."

Wally grinned. Now that sounded like Hal…and Guy.

"It's just weird. All those times you and everyone else pointed out that I was no Hal Jordan, I gave you hell for it, but I knew what you meant. I mean, I had reviewed the League's old records, read what Hal had done. Listening to Alan, John, and even Guy just made it all the more apparent that I was no Hal. But it was easy to dismiss, too. I mean, the guy was gone. He had crossed the line. He had crossed over to the dark side. How great could he really have been? If greatness meant you eventually went crazy, well, I didn't need to be great. But now he's back and I can see I'm no Hal Jordan. He has something. I don't know what, but it's something, something I know I don't have. Hell, even Guy and John are more like him than I'll ever be."

"Kyle, you earned your spot as a GL. No one better question that. Hell, you could probably teach Hal a thing or two."

"No one is…well, no one except Sinestro."

"I wouldn't listen to him."

"Yeah, I know." Kyle rubbed at an invisible spot on his jeans.

"So, why are you leaving?"

"The Guardians are restarting the Corps."

"Yeah, you mentioned that."

"Guy and I are going. They, the Guardians, asked for us."

Wally heard the hint of pride and amazement in Kyle's voice. He smiled. "That's great. I know you'll do great. Don't know so much about Guy, but I'm sure the blue guys have their reasons."

Kyle scratched at his hair. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, we're leaving soon. We're going to stop by the Watchtower, tell Bats and Supes and everyone, give the official hand-off to John, but I figured you probably wouldn't be there because of the babies and all, and I just wanted to say goodbye and see how things are going."

His and Kyle's relationship had come a long way from when they had first met. They had gone from hating each other to becoming close friends. Flashes and Green Lanterns. They had continued the tradition. "I'm glad you did. You'll be missed."

"I doubt that. Hal's back. John'll be here."

"You'll be missed," Wally repeated. He knew he was being a bit selfish, but there were distinct advantages to having someone near his age in the League. Besides, Kyle knew the story of what was currently going on in the League. If he needed someone to talk to, Kyle provided a ready ear to listen.

Not surprisingly, Kyle knew what he was thinking. "Maybe you should talk to Hal about it. He was there when it happened. He might be able to provide a new perspective."

Wally ran a hand through his hair. "It's crossed my mind, but he has enough on his plate, restarting his life and everything. Besides, he didn't help matters when he decked Bruce."

Kyle smiled. "Guy isn't letting him forget it either."

"I can imagine." It was probably more surprising that Hal hadn't decked Guy yet. Separating Hal and Guy by several star systems was probably a good idea. They could get along, but they also knew what buttons to push and never hesitated doing it. Wally wondered how well Kyle was going to function with Guy.

"Look, if you need to talk or if you want to approach Bruce or the League or whatever, I'll be there for you, okay? What they did to Bruce…I still can't quite believe it. Sort of makes the whole plotting how to take us down seem acceptable."

"Tell me about it."

"Anyway, Hal and John can contact me."

"Thanks. I may take you up on that."

A hiccup echoed from the twins' bedroom. Wally held his breath. His luck had run out. Before the cry could reach full strength, Wally returned to the living room with a baby in his arms. Thirty minutes of down time. He noticed Kyle looking at the baby. With a smile, he handed over the baby before Kyle could protest. Kyle looked at the small person in his arms, a smile on his face. "Kyle, this is Irey. Irey, this is a Kyle, a Green Lantern. If you grow up to be a Flash, you'll learn that Flashes and Green Lanterns are destined to be best of friends. Things might not always start out on the right foot, the GLs may be a bit slow and thick-headed-" Kyle stuck his tongue out at Wally; Wally grinned, "-but they always have your back just like the Flashes will always have theirs. It's tradition."

"Well said. It seems unreal that you have one of these."

"Tell me about it."

Kyle smiled at the baby before handing her back. "I should go. I have a list of things I need to do before we leave."

Wally pulled Kyle into a hug. "Take care," he said, clapping Kyle on the back. "Don't let Guy walk all over you. And if you need anything, just call."

"Yeah, I know. You, too."

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><p>AN: This story references several DC storylines. In case you're interested:

* Dr. Light/Batman issue – see TPBs Identity Crisis; Flash: The Secret of Barry Allen; and JLA: Crisis of Conscience

* Hal's return – see TPB Green Lantern: Rebirth

* Wally battling Zooms, seeing Barry and becoming a father – see TPB Flash: Rogue War

* Batman plotting to take down the League – see TPB JLA: Tower of Babel


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